|
Gladio didn't entirely remember getting on board the Praespero, or at least past the point he'd seen Henruit on board - limping a little but otherwise none the worse for wear and very much alive. Vague recollections of Prompto and Noctis helping him to the med bay, Prompto's crew that lingered to make sure everything was okay. And as he started to wake up he tried to put these little flashes of things into order, that sort of sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that reminded him too much of the times he'd woken up after drinking heavily. The sort of what did I do moment of panic. He could vaguely remember being introduced to the doctor and nurse who'd immediately gone to work on his injures, but the names more than escaped him at the moment, and overshadowed by the realization that he was pretty sure he had patted Prompto's head and called his hair pretty.
He winced a little as he opened his eyes, feeling the swelling in that area of his face. It took a moment, but the med bay pulled into focus and he let his gaze wander around a little before it landed on Henruit at his feet in the bed and then Prompto passed out in a chair beside him. He didn't see Noctis, but he doubted the other had gone far. Gladio only hoped he was at least grabbing a bite to eat or some rest. Gingerly Gladio lifted an arm, took in the IV on his hand and pressed his lips together. The sort of sick feeling of you really fucked up lingered. That he had dragged Noctis and Prompto into all of this felt unforgivable and he wasn't even sure what could ever make that right. His mouth dry he glanced to the pitcher of water and glass on the little table beside his bed. He reached to try to pour himself a glass, not wanting to wake Prompto to ask. But it was an odd angle and every inch he moved had his body protesting and he only managed to knock the cup over, groaning slightly as the sound of the plastic cup bouncing off the floor echoed in the room. "Shit," he muttered and fell back against the bed. "Sorry - I didn't mean to wake you," he offered Prompto as he noticed him stir in the chair. |
|
Once they had all safely gotten on board, once Gladio’s condition finally stabilized, Prompto finally felt the surge of emotions that he had managed to mostly keep at bay while they were planetside hit him like a freight train at full speed. Prom finally registered thatpanic that still had his limbs feeling weak, left them trembling even now. He finally acknowledged that fear that he had gotten so close to losing him before he ever really got him back. That panic and that fear woke up other things inside him too, feelings that he had been trying not to notice, ones that he was trying to pack away again but they were fuelled by that worry, the what ifs, and they wouldn’t be ignored anymore.
All of it, though, was exhausting, and now that Prompto had finally stopped pacing to slump in a chair by the side of the bed Gladio was in, his eyes fluttered closed. It wasn’t really sleeping, more like his mind temporarily shutting down to try to keep itself from shaking apart, but it was helping, even if only a little. Until the sound of something clattering to the floor hit his eardrums and Prom jolted upright, overtaken by that learned anxiety of not sleeping too deeply, of reacting to every sound as if it belonged to something about to kill him. It had saved his life more than a handful of times after the world had gone dark, but now, it left him crippled and unable to really sleep at all. For a moment, before his eyes adjusted, Prompto glanced around the room trying to figure out where he was. His contacts weren’t in and his glasses had been set aside when he had rubbed his eyes in his tiredness before and never put back on, so the blurriness of the world around him and the fact that he was startled back into consciousness both left him feeling panicked. The sound of a familiar voice cut through that though, reminded him he was in the med bay, that Gladio was here, that everyone was safe. Putting his glasses back on, Prom raked a shaky hand through his hair. “It’s okay. I wasn’t really sleeping.” Prompto shifted a little in his chair, debating on whether or not he could move it closer. If he should. Instead, he preoccupied himself with retrieving the cup that had fallen to the floor and tossed it into the garbage and pouring a glass of water in a fresh one before holding it out to Gladio with a soft smile. “How are you feeling?” |
|
Gladio took the cup with a grateful smile and took a long drink before he attempted to answer Prompto. The cool water felt nice against the rawness of his throat and while he knew the IV hooked up to him had started to take care of the fact he was probably dehydrated to all hell, it didn't even come close to the feeling of actually having a drink after so long.
He kept the cup in hand as he let his head fall back against the pillows, eyes closing for a moment. "Like shit," he answered, candidly honest in the assessment. Because really - he knew what he probably looked like right then and trying to pretend otherwise would just be making idiots of the both of them. He took in a slow breath, let it out and then turned his head so he could look at Prompto as he opened his eyes again. "I owe you an apology," he started, his voice rough. "I dragged you and the people you're responsible for into something none of you should have had to deal with and I'm sorry for that, Prom." Guilt gnawed at him at the words, but then guilt was nothing new for him. This was just another layer to add to it. Wrapping Noctis and Prompto up in his mess was something he'd carry the weight of for a damn long time - especially since it wasn't just Prompto. It was his crew. Gladio knew what it meant to be responsible for people like that, to make the calls that could mean life or death for the people under you. He hated the idea he had placed making this call on Prompto. |
|
Seeing that smile on Gladio’s face lifted a little of the anxiety that was still pressing down on his shoulders, making him feel heavy and sluggish. It was good, too, just to see him awake. Prompto knew that he was going to be okay (and oh, if he didn’t drive Madeira nearly completely insane asking him about Gladio’s condition every time the doctor was within earshot), but hearing that and seeing it were two completely different things.
“Yeah, you kinda look like it,” Prom teased, that warm smile still on his face. In all fairness, he looked a lot better than he had even a few hours ago, the color returning to his face, but he’d taken a beating and it wasn’t difficult to tell. It was hard to see, because Prompto had always seen him as this infalible, strong, force of nature, and he’d idolized him from the moment they first met in that arcade when Prom was still in high school. Prompto held Gladio’s gaze and he found himself studying the color of his eyes, that warm amber that reminded him of a rich honey. “You didn’t drag us into anything, Gladio. And I didn’t order any of them to follow me there. I gave them the choice.” He was responsible for them, and that was why he couldn’t just demand their cooperation. It was what he did whenever they followed a lead to danger — they always had a choice. They always chose to follow him, but Prom never wanted to feel like they needed to. They were more than just a crew to him; they were family. Leaning forward, Prom wanted to reach out and grab Gladio’s hand but he hesitated. “But there was no way I wasn’t going to come after you. You’re important to me.” After another moment of uncertainty, he took Gladio’s hand in both of his own, mindful of the IV. “I was so afraid I was gonna lose you,” Prom admitted quietly, looking down at their hands as he sucked in a shaky breath. |
|
"I'm still the reason there even was a choice to be made, Prom," he insisted. The worst of it was knowing this wasn't just some accident, he couldn't feign ignorance on his own part to play in all of it. Maybe he hadn't seeked this out, but he sure as hell hadn't stopped it ages ago when he damn well should have. He knew it would be a long time before he forgave himself for that, if he ever did.
Gladio turned his palm up against Prompto's when the hand was laid on his. Mindful as well of the needle sticking out of him he managed to thread their fingers together and gave Prompto's hand a squeeze. This was habit with him and Noctis now. Touch. The physical reminder of I'm here, you're here. He'd mull over later about how it felt natural to extend that now to Prompto. "Hey," he said softly, the shaky breath Prompto had let out tugging at him. "It's okay, Prom, I'm okay," he assured. Even if they'd both been wandering around the outer edges enough to know he wouldn't have been okay had Prompto and Noctis not shown up. His gaze mirrored Prompto's, falling to their hands entwined together and he let his thumb brush gently against Prompto's hand. "You're important to me too, Prompto," he echoed. And really it shouldn't have taken this for him to say it, he knew that. "Thank you," he added and lifted his gaze. "For coming to get me." He paused and gave Prompto's hand another little squeeze. "I owe you." |
|
“You’re gonna beat yourself up over this, aren’t you?” If the situation was reversed, Prompto knew he would do that exact thing, making himself sick with guilt. He didn’t want to tell him not to, but at the same time, it felt hypocritical. “We all mess up. And before you tell me that this is bigger than just screwing up, don’t, okay? I’ve made a lot of bad choices too and I know how easy it is to just… keep worrying over them. I don’t want you to do that on my account.” Prompto didn’t want to be a source of pain for him, just the thought of being a source of guilt or grief to him made all of his insides twist horribly and it hurt enough that he felt physically sick.
More than a little surprised when Gladio laced their fingers together, Prompto curled his fingers and held tightly almost not even caring about accidentally dislodging the IV anymore. Touch was something he craved so much, but he never sought it out because he had only ever wanted it from these ghosts from his past, from the people he’d loved and lost. “I know, but I…” Prom swallowed hard, feeling like his throat was closing and it was getting hard to breathe. There was so much he wanted to say, but it was like his body was protesting, terrified of what would happen. But he wanted to be honest. “It’s more than just that. I was…. scared of things just ending the way we left it. That I’d never… we’d never…,” and Prom paused, sighing and lowering his head. All of this was just so complicated and Prompto knew that saying any of what was on his mind was bound to make it even more so, and for everything in him that tired to talk him out of this, he needed to keep going. Prompto was determined, even if he tripped over himself. “I miss when we were closer, when it still felt like we were friends. We drifted apart and at first, I told myself that we had to, we needed to do so much and it was just how things had to be but then… I stopped trying and I told myself that was for the best too. But it wasn’t. It didn’t make anything better, it didn’t change that I…” Biting his lip, Prom knew he was careening towards the edge, about to condemn himself to fall for better or for worse. There was always the chance to stop now, to leave it there, at talk about wanting to be friends again, but Prompto didn’t want to keep the rest unsaid. Those feelings were still there, would always be there, and maybe this would be his only chance. Slowly, Prompto picked his head up, his eyes finding Gladio’s again. “I’m in love with you.” |
|
Gladio's thumb brushed against Prompto's as he talked, and while there were so many points he wanted to interject, to take responsibility for his own part in the distance that had settled between them he refrained - not wanting to interrupt what Prompto was clearly having a hard time trying to get out. Gladio knew he had a lot ground to make up for when it came to Prompto and he figured the least he could do was hear him out.
It was when the words I'm in love with you spilled from Prompto's lips that Gladio's movements still. A flicker of surprise probably more than evident in his expression as he held Prompto's gaze. It was only a moment though, and then he gave Prompto's hand a squeeze - not wanting his surprise at the words to be taken as a negative. He honestly wasn't sure what he felt about it, but he knew it wasn't bad. Just thrown, and something that he knew was going to take him a while to sort out. To go back through years of history and look at from another angle. "Prom I -" he pressed his lips together and let his thumb start to brush against Prompto's skin again. "I can't really say that's where I expected this conversation to go," he admitted with a small smile. "I used to have a thing for you, you know that?" he said softly as his gaze dropped to their hands. "I don't -" he paused, shook his head, "I don't even know if used to is really accurate to be honest." Used to implied it was gone, and he wasn't sure if that was really the case, or just that he had shoved it so far to the side for so many reasons he hadn't even allowed himself the space to figure it out. "I knew it was probably a bad move," he started to explain. "You were Noct's friend. The only one he had that got to choose to be there and that was always so damn important, I worried if I fucked something up with you that it'd make things harder for you two." He lifted his gaze and shrugged slightly. "And I guess I always figured you only had eyes for Noctis anyways," he admitted. That one hadn't been hard to work out. Even if Gladio knew - at least back home before everything had gone to hell and there had been certain expectations of Noctis, expectations that didn't include getting involved with his male best friend who didn't come from a noble family - that nothing probably would or could ever happen with Noctis and Prompto it hadn't made the feelings any less real. |
|
“I… didn’t either,” Prompto admitted with a small huff of laughter as a deep rose colored blush crept across his face. In his chest, his heart was still racing, beating hard enough that if it managed to free itself, he wouldn’t be surprised. That look of surprise that passed over Gladio’s face, that stillness, had been the only thing that had stopped the wild racing of his heart. In fact, for a moment, it felt as if his heart had stopped completely, and Prompto had been a second away from pulling his hand away when Gladio had finally spoken, the gentle caress of his thumb against the back of his hand enough to stop him from retreating.
That wasn’t to say that he wasn’t still absolutely terrified. There was still so much to lose and Prompto was at his most vulnerable now with all his heart laid bare in between them, completely at Gladio’s mercy. “Used to.” He echoed the words quietly, before Gladio had continued speaking. It was possible that he hadn’t even uttered them loud enough to be heard, but he couldn’t be sure. Not over the way his heartbeat trumped so much of the sound around him, thundering inside his head. Prompto made no more moves to interrupt Gladio, listening silently to him talk. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?” Immediately, he recognized the hypocrisy of that, because he hadn’t confessed to him either all those years ago. Or even on that night they had been together after the world had gone dark and by chance, they had taken the same contract. Just like how Prompto had kept his feelings for Noctis hidden, he’d neatly wrapped up the ones he had for Gladio too and placed them up on the same high shelf. Out of reach, but far from forgotten. “I love him too,” Prompto admitted without a second of hesitation. He’d promised to be honest, and he was going to make good on that promise. “I have for a really long time. But that doesn’t mean I can’t love you too. And maybe that makes me selfish… or greedy, but it’s the truth. I love both of you so much. “You… don’t have to have any feelings for me but I wanted you to know about mine, so that if you still wanted to be friends, there wouldn’t be any secrets left. It just…. seemed fair to both of us if I was finally honest.” Squeezing Gladio’s hand gently, Prompto held his gaze. If Gladio needed time, Prompto was willing to give it to him, and if he needed space, then he would grant him that too. He wasn’t going to demand an answer, and he didn’t expect anything. Revealing his feelings was… well, he really just wanted Gladio to know where he stood, where his hopes lay. If that was out of the question, Prompto wanted to know sooner rather than later. It really was…. just fair. Though it would hurt to always keep this love for him locked away, Prompto would be more than willing to cage it if he could stay by Gladio’s side as a friend, if he still wanted him there. “I know this is… a lot to put on you while you’re still recovering, and I’m sorry. You don’t have to have an answer for me. Just… think it over? I’ll be waiting, however long it takes,” Prompto added, offering Gladio a warm smile. |
|
Why he didn't say anything was one hell of a complicated answer and maybe not one that could be fully given in one conversation. But he wanted to answer it at least a little. "There were a lot of things, Prom," he started. "You and Noctis - you were, are, so important to me. If I had been the reason things got weird between you two, I wouldn't have been able to live with that." Even if he and Prompto had tried to start something, there was no guarantee. Especially given his own position and the fact he knew there were certain expectations that came with it. That his marriage would be mostly arranged, and anything that came before it would just be - temporary. "And I knew anything I started with someone - at least before the world went to hell - would have an expiry date. I didn't want to do that to you. I figured you deserved more than someone who had the political obligations I did hanging over their heads."
He left it at that. For now at least. He wasn't sure yet how he felt about everything after. Would it have changed anything? If he had known all those dark years that this was how Prompto felt. Would it have changed what happened between them that night. He wasn't even sure how to begin to start thinking through all of that. Besides, there was something they needed to work out before it even got that far. And Gladio was bound and determined to make sure it happened. To keep that distance they'd let come between them do so again. Prompto was there and willing to make it happen, Gladio knew it was time to do the same. "Prompto - I still want to be friends, okay? I'll always want to still be friends," he assured with another squeeze of his hand. "I know I haven't exactly been a good friend for too damn long now, but I want to work on that. The rest of it?" he shrugged a little but smiled warmly at Prompto. "You still deserve better than my dumb ass." He paused, glanced down for a moment and then back up to Prompto. "But I don't think you're selfish for wanting what you want, Prom. Nothing about all of us was ever exactly… normal. Why would this be?" He let his head fall back against the pillows, but still kept his gaze on Prompto. "You're going to tell Noctis though, right? How you feel about him?" If maybe it hadn't happened already. But he wanted to be sure, to know that they would take this chance afforded them to see what might be between them. Now that they had the freedom to do so. |
|
Duty. Obligation. It reminded Prompto that he didn’t exist in the same world that Gladio had, that Noctis had, back on Eos. They were from circles Prompto never should have been a part of, wasn’t worthy to be a part of, long before he knew… what he was. Prompto understood their ties to tradition and to their families and it made him wonder what would have happened to him, if the world hadn’t fallen to ruin and they had all been given the chance to live. It felt unlikely that there would have been a place for him in their lives anymore and in the end, he would have ended up alone. In the end, would he always just end up alone?
“I get that,” he responded, voice quiet. “I didn’t really mean to make you feel like you needed to justify yourself. I’m sorry.” That hypocrisy was eating at him again, because he hadn’t said anything either, but maybe that had been a good thing. From what Gladio just said, he couldn’t help but think that was true. Whether he deserved that heartbreak or not, Prompto didn’t think he’d ever really love anyone else when his friends went their own ways. How could he? It didn’t seem right to try to be with someone when his heart completely belonged to others, whether they wanted him or not. Prompto didn’t really want to think about if his confession could have changed the past because he was afraid he already knew the answer and it was one that hurt a little. It wasn’t that he didn’t know why that would have been true, but understanding didn’t make the sting less biting that his feelings could be that… easy to dismiss. Dismiss maybe wasn’t the right word, but it was the one that he got hung up on and it was hard to let it go. Squeezing back, Prompto took a deep breath and tried to push all of those dark thoughts out of his head. He smiled when Gladio said that he still wanted to be friends. It was more than he’d even let himself hope for. “I hadn’t really been a good friend either. It’s a two way street and well…. I didn’t try to reach out when I knew I should, even though I always wanted to. I felt like I’d just turn into a burden and I didn’t want that.” Back then, he’d wanted to prove that he was capable too, that he was strong enough to stand up on his own, and he thought that meant that he needed to stop depending on them which turned into distancing himself from them. “Well, I could say the same thing about myself, that you don’t deserve to have to deal with this mess. But… I think you’re good enough for me.” He looked away for a moment, down at their hands, at the IV pump, just anywhere else because embarrassment and nervousness were clinging to him all over again and he felt like a teenager, not someone in his mid-thirties. “Maybe not, but I can’t help but feel selfish for wanting anything. It just doesn’t feel like I deserve it.” Prompto had always struggled with his self-worth, time had done nothing to remedy that, and this? Being in love with two people and somehow expecting them to accept that and love him back? That was almost laughably selfish. Still, he couldn’t change the way that he felt, how much he loved them. “Yeah.” He sounded so small, even to himself. This felt a little like dismissal again, and he wished that this was just easier to talk about, but it wasn’t. “I will tell him, but we’re not talking about Noctis right now,” Prompto insisted, though his tone was so fragile and tentative. Even though he wanted to sound confident, it was hard to when he felt so vulnerable. Still, he managed to say more than he had the last time they talked, telling himself to at least try to say what’s on his mind instead of swallowing it or ignoring it. All that would do was keep them forever going in circles and he didn’t want that. |
|
It was almost immediate, the realization that he hadn't probably explained himself properly. Or maybe this was just one of those situations that no explanation really would be the proper one. He couldn't go back, he couldn't magically make different decisions. As much as everything had gotten so turned around, so messed up for all of them - this was what they had. All they could really do was try to figure it out. To try to salvage what they could from the wreckage of their lives.
I think you're good enough for me, rattled around in his thoughts and he pressed his lips into a tight smile. "Prom, no one's good enough for you," he replied. Because well, it was kind of true. "You're kind of amazing, you know that?" After everything that had happened, all the trauma and the damage. The fact Prompto had spent more years missing Noctis than they had even been together and yet still Prompto had been absolutely loyal and steadfast to the end and then some. Even here, finding a way to help people. "I've always thought so." Gladio kept his gaze on Prompto, his own sharp and full of sincerity, the conviction behind his words despite the fact he was in as rough of shape as he was. "And I've never thought of you as a burden, I never could." He paused, swallowed hard. "But I get that that." He'd thought much the same really these past few years. A burden. A reminder of what they had all lost. How could he shove himself into Prompto and Ignis' life when he was the reason Noctis wasn't there anymore? How could he expect them to look at him and not think, if only he had done his damn job Noctis would still be alive. Even as more and more had started to come out, the slow realization that his entire purpose in life had been doomed from the start and his own father knew that and still let him get hung up on the idea of Noct's life over everything else - that still remained. The guilt, the blame. The assumption that everyone else blamed him too. "Look, Prom - I -" he shook his head and trailed off as his gaze fell. "I have no idea what I'm doing right now," he admitted, a small attempt at a laugh at the words. "But I know I don't want us to go back to what we were doing," he paused and looked back up at Prompto. "I want to be in your life again - can we start with that?" |
|
Changing the past was impossible, Prompto knew that, and thinking about all the what ifs was a painful waste of time. That didn’t mean that he didn’t wonder, daydream, agonize over those pivotal moments sometimes when he’d opened his mouth to say something and laughed it off with a joke instead, or just said nothing at all. No, Prompto kept himself awake all night with thoughts of what if because even suffering under the weight of all of that was preferable to the nightmares. If he kept his mind busy with daydreams and strategizing, with anything, he could go another moment without that terror creeping back in. Inevitably, it always did, but he still tried to hold it back.
Holding his breath, Prompto worried his bottom lip between his teeth, afraid he’d said something wrong. Prompto had never confessed his feelings to anyone before because even when he was a teen, he was already in love with someone he felt was completely out of his league. And then he also fell in love with another. So… he was completely out of his comfort zone and he felt like he was rambling but somehow not saying enough at the same time. Every time he opened his mouth, it felt like nothing was coming out the way he wanted it to, and each second of silence had him running all of it back, trying to see where he might have screwed up. “I don’t think that’s true,” Prompto said, trying to sound light-hearted but it felt clunky. And which part was that even directed towards? Both? Maybe both. Prompto didn’t think he was good enough, had never thought he was good enough, and he certainly didn’t think he was amazing, kinda or otherwise. “But I guess I can lower my standards just a little,” he added, teasing, and it sounded a little more natural. Prompto hated that everything felt so stilted, that he couldn’t just be himself. Anxiety gripped him and it wouldn’t let go, because this was so important to him and he just couldn’t get out of his own way. “You really thought that? Why?” A pause. “I always looked up to you. You were always so certain and you seemed like you were able to stand tall no matter what. I always wished I could have been more like you.” Prompto wanted to believe that he hadn’t been a burden, but he couldn’t help but think of all those times on that road trip that he had only been able to hide behind his friends, how he hadn’t ever really been strong enough. He’d break himself to help them, and he had. He’d put himself in the way of a bullet or a blade for them, risk his life for them without hesitation, but he never felt capable enough to support him, no matter what he did. All he could do was his best and it never felt like enough. He was just a stupid kid who loved his friends and wanted to protect them even though he didn’t know how. “Thank you. I… well, I was, but thank you. For saying that.” He offered him a melancholy little smile. If he’d been stronger, maybe his friends wouldn’t be hurting now. Even if Prompto had known about the guilt that Gladio carried around with him, Prom wasn’t ever sure he would have known what to say. It wasn’t ever a thing he could have related to, it wasn’t something he could feel in the same way. Prompto had felt like he’d failed Noctis, too, but he couldn’t imagine how Gladio must have felt watching him walk away and knowing, like Prompto had known, that Noctis wouldn’t ever come back. It was an ultimate failure of a Shield, Prompto figured, to outlive their king and it had felt like Gladio had been dealt just as bad a losing hand as Noctis had. All of them had been dealt losing hands, with the deck stacked in favor of everyone else but them. “I know you do,” Prompto said finally and he squeezed Gladio’s hand gently. “I don’t want to go back to that either.” Even when Gladio looked away, Prompto kept his eyes trained on him, studying his profile and the lines of his face. Even after all the time and distance that stretched between them, everything about him was still familiar. Underneath all those years of darkness, underneath those new scars, and that personal darkness he still carried, Gladio was still in there and Prompto wanted to get to him. Just like he hoped Gladio wanted to get to the person he’d used to be too, buried under all those same layers. “And it’s okay not to know what you’re doing? I have no idea what I’m doing, honestly.” Just hearing that Gladio wanted to be in his life again took a million pounds off of his shoulders and he could breathe again. “I’d like that. I want to be in yours too. I don’t want that distance anymore.” |
|
"Yeah, I really thought that, Prom. I still do." Gladio said gently, but not without conviction behind the words. "You're one of the bravest people I know, always have been. Even just - fuck, Prom - putting yourself out there for Noctis. That took guts." The kind of nerve most people didn't have, if Noctis' lack of friends for most of his school years was any indication. "Sticking with him through everything and all the shit that landed on your plate because of it." There had been so many points where most people would have just… given up. But Prompto never had. Always willing to push forward.
Gladio let out a slow breath and tugged a bit on Prompto's hand. "Can you just - I really want to hug you right now but I don't think that's happening so…" he let go of Prompto's hand and shuffled over in the bed, leaving a space for Prompto to crawl into. Maybe it was too much, but he wasn't really thinking about it as they sorted themselves out. Just that it was better this way. Some of the anxiousness and agitation falling away as Prompto curled up against him. "This okay?" he asked though as he maneuvered his arms around Prompto, a bit of a feat given his current state. There was so much that had happened, so much history and Gladio knew it wouldn't all be solved today. But this felt like an good start. Gladio let his eyes close, drowsiness starting to settle in, but there was one last thing he wanted to voice before he gave into it. "I'm proud of you - this ship, your crew, what you guys have been doing. It's pretty incredible, Prom." |
|
Speechless, Prompto just looked at Gladio for a few moments. There was nothing but sincerity in his friend’s voice and in his expression and it made it hard for Prom to try to tell himself that he was joking. “I just saw someone I thought was a little like me.” Sad. Lonely. Prompto saw Noctis and wanted to be his friend, not because of his title but because Prom wanted to maybe make Noct’s life a little less sad and lonely. “It took me a few years to get that nerve but… I got there in the end.”
Prompto had never thought that was strength, that his compassion and his empathy were where all his power lay but he was starting to believe that maybe it was. “I never would have turned my back on him, or you, or Ignis. Nothing could have ever made me do that.” It didn’t matter how hard he was struck down, how afraid he could get, how high the cards were stacked against him, he would never abandon the people he loved. Those dark years had pulled them apart, put oceans of duty and pain in between them but with a word, he’d run to them. Always. They were his everything. Drawn out of his thoughts by the gentle tug on his hand, Prompto blinked a couple times and refocused his eyes on Gladio. And then he blinked a couple more times in surprise as his cheeks blossomed with a delicate pink color. For all of that though, Prom didn’t really move with that much hesitance once Gladio resettled in the bed after making a space for him in it. “Yeah,” Prompto whispered, voice stretched thin with nervousness but still warm underneath that, as he stood up. “I can do that.” Slowly, he climbed onto the bed, mindful of all the tubing, not wanting to disrupt anything and risk being scolded by his medical staff. If this was too much, Prompto didn’t notice because he felt so much more at ease here, pressed against Gladio’s side. “Very okay.” Prom let his eyes slide closed when Gladio’s arms encircled him. He knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep, Prompto didn’t do all that much of that, but he could lay here with his arms around Gladio and just be for a little while. “They’re good people. I’m proud of them too,” Prompto mused quietly. He tried to downplay what Gladio had said, but he couldn’t help the way his heartbeat picked up or how happy hearing him say that made him. “Thank you,” he added after a moment. “It means a lot to me, hearing that from you.” Shifting a little and curling against Gladio more, Prom felt like all of that anxiety and tension that had been twisting his insides and tiring his muscles out start to melt away bit by bit. All he hoped for was that Gladio felt the same with him pressed close like this. “Try and get some rest, okay? I’ll be here.” |
|
There was so much more that he wanted to say, that Gladio knew he needed to say. But he wasn't even sure where to begin. Or what purpose any of it would even serve right then. Maybe it was better to just do this, just give into the warmth of Prompto against him. The steady rise and fall of Prompto's chest he could feel. To let it lull him into a comfort he knew he didn't really deserve but he didn't have the strength to walk away from just then.
Idly Gladio's hand started to draw a line up and down Prompto's spine. Touch light and soothing. The kind of touch he had fallen into with Noctis countless times in their time on earth. And it did much the same for Gladio then. Comforting even if technically it was his hand doing what would be considered the comforting movement. But this was comfort to Gladio. Feeling safe in knowing the people he cared about were just that themselves. Safe. At least for the moment. Like Prompto, Gladio didn't do much in the way of sleeping anymore. It was easy though to go against that in the moment. Between the warmth of Prompto curled up next to him and the comfort he found there, the sheer exhaustion after everything and Gladio found himself starting to drift off. Lulled by Prompto's assurances he would be right there, Gladio's breathing started to even out and slowly his hand stilled against Prompto's back as sleep pulled him under. |